Starmer hits back at Musk, criticising those 'spreading lies' over child sex abuse

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently publicly condemned those spreading "lies and disinformation" about child sex abuse rings in the UK, a statement made in response to the storm stirred up online by Elon Musk. Starmer emphasized that those spreading these rumors are not genuinely concerned about the victims, but rather are motivated by self-interest.

Starmer told reporters on Monday: "Those who are spreading lies and disinformation as widely as possible, they have no interest in the victims, they are only interested in themselves." Over the past few days, Musk, the world's richest man and owner of social media platform X, has been using his platform to revisit child sex abuse scandals that occurred in parts of the UK years ago.

Musk even called on King Charles III to dissolve Parliament and order new elections on social media. He also demanded that Starmer's Shadow Minister for Children and Families, Jess Phillips, be imprisoned, calling her "pure evil" and a "wicked creature." Furthermore, he stated that Starmer himself should also be thrown in jail.

Starmer pointed out that this tactic of inciting intimidation and threatening violence is frequently used with the aim of getting the media to amplify these statements' impact. He added, "When the poison of the far-right leads to serious threats against Jess Phillips and others, it seems to me that a line has been crossed."

Starmer stated that he enjoys "robust political debate" but stressed that these debates must be "based on facts and truth, not lies." He also criticized Conservative politicians—some of whom were in government when the sex abuse scandals occurred—for "jumping on the bandwagon" and being "so desperate for attention that they are prepared to demean themselves and their country."